Browse Tag: Android handsets

If you’ve been wondering on how popular Android handsets are in the UK, it looks like they’re pretty darn popular. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, one out of four people own an Android-powered smartphone in the UK.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s market research reveals that 43.8% of the UK’s citizens own smartphones. Out of the 43.8% of people who own smartphones, 49.9% of these phones are powered by the Android operating system. 22.5% of the total figure was Blackberry’s handsets. The remaining 18.5% were iPhones. No wonder Apple’s on a quest to bring Android down, there’s no stopping to the little green robots from pushing forward.

When it comes to the Android manufacturers’ share of the pie, the Taiwanese phone giant HTC dominates smartphone sales in the UK. 44.8% of all Android smartphones that have been sold are HTC-made. The remaining portion of the pie has been divided among belongs to Sony Ericsson (now just Sony) and top smartphone seller in the world, the Korean tech giant Samsung.

With these figures, it’s pretty clear that Brits prefer to get their hands on an HTC Sensation, Samsung Galaxy S2, or Sony Ericsson Arc S. With more upcoming Android-powered smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Razr just around the corner, we’re sure these figures will soar even further. This doesn’t look too good for the iPhone 4S, despite its record breaking sales.

Are you impressed with Android’s success, or are you still a die-hard iPhone fan? Share your thoughts.

The search engine giant Google introduces a new method of payment, Google Wallet. This new service makes use of NFC (Near Filed Communication) technology. This allows Android users in the US to pay for goods and services using their smartphones.

This new payment service will be launched in the US this coming summer. It will be launched alongside another service Google Offers. This new service allows users to benefit from discounts by simply downloading coupons. All of these services will be done on smartphones with the NFC chip. Currently, only the Google Nexus S (4G) on the network operator Sprint will have the feature. Thankfully, Google will be adding the new feature on other smartphones in the future. Hopefully, the service will reach the UK, which will allow users to make use of the NFC version of the Samsung Galaxy S2.

To access Google Offers, all you have to do is search on the search giant’s search engine. These coupons will be hard to miss, since they look like actual coupons that come with barcodes. Once the coupons have been downloaded, you can open up Google Wallet and access the coupons from within the app. This will allow you to flash your smartphone on the cash register and purchase things at a discount.

Of course, the service only works with smartphones that come with the NFC chip. Sadly, some of the top Android handsets such as the Motorola Atrix, the HTC Sensation, and the LG Optimus 2X do not come with the feature.

You might be thinking of the number of security risks the feature may present to shady figures. As a security measure, the NFC chip will cease to function, once tampered with. Another security measure is the disabling of the NFC feature, once the smartphone is locked.

Google has partnered up with MasterCard, Citibank, FirstData, and the network provider Sprint for this payment service. The service will initially be available in Portland, San Francisco, and New York this summer. We sure hope the UK gets a piece of the action soon.

When it comes to reliable browsers, you are probably making use of the new Mozilla Firefox 4 on your desktop or laptop. This reliable browser is currently being used by more than 500 million users. This makes you wish that you could use this popular browser on your smartphone. Fortunately, if you own an Android handset, you can now make use of this reliable browser.

Firefox has been one of the most trusted browsers for years. This browser gives you the freedom to make use of a number of add-ons, which makes it both reliable and versatile. With the version 4 now available for download, your internet experience will definitely be more enhanced. This is the same case when it comes to its mobile phone version.

If you own an Android handset such as the LG Optimus 2X or the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc, you can easily download and make use of the browser. This is due to the fact that the browser was optimized to run on the Android OS version 2.2 (Froyo) and Android OS version 2.3 (Gingerbread). If you own a handset such as the HTC Desire you can make use of the browser as well. Its minimum requirement is the Android OS version 2.1 (Éclair).

The Mozilla Firefox 4 browser comes with a number of cool features. Aside from loading web pages with ease on either Wi-Fi, 3G networks, or the outdated EDGE networks, it also comes with convenient sync capabilities that will surely save you a lot of time. It allows you to share your desktop’s tabs, browser history, passwords, and bookmarks with your smartphone browser. All you have to do is setup a Firefox Sync Account to immediately get started. Furthermore, there are tons of add-ons you can make use of. Prepare for fast and reliable browsing with the new Mozilla Firefox 4 for your Android smartphone.